The Wolf Hunt
by WhiteTigerA
Summary: Alixya is a Werewolf, it doesn't bother her. The thing which does is what she has done with this power - not all of it on purpose. This Story follows Alixya's adventure to join the thieves guild in Riften, retrieve the Ring of Hircine and how she controls her inner-beast. I hope you all like it, this is my first piece of Fan Fiction. Enjoy :)
1. Evening Hunt

Alixya was a young Nord in her early twenties. She used to be an enthusiastic adventurer. Until the accident happened, now she roams around Skyrim, living from what nature provides. A high bounty is not a good thing to have. Alixya is known to most holds in Skyrim, the guards never attempt to arrest her, only to kill the Nord. The thing is, Alixya is no ordinary person – a Nord by day, a Werewolf by night. Although Alixya doesn't mind having the blood of the wolf, she is not proud of it. It has caused her to do some terrible things – unforgettable things.

The sun was beginning to set behind the horizon, turning the sky a dark orange - it would not be long before the creatures of the night came out. "I have to find a place to sleep..." whispered Alixya as she moved quickly and silently through the forest. Leaves and twigs occasionally snapped beneath her feet and branches brushed through her long, black hair.

Talking to herself helped Alixya feel more... comfortable. It soon becomes lonely when you are on the run. There was a barking of a dog in the distance and Alixya quickened her pace. She liked dogs – they didn't care about your past, she was more worried that there may be guards patrolling the forest. City noises soon became faint in her ears; having enhanced senses is always useful no matter where you are. Alixya pulled a torn and crumpled map from her pocket; she guessed that she was nearing Solitude.

A small fox ran past and some Elk stood eating grass in the distance. Alixya's stomach grumbled – she hadn't eaten in two days and so, without any warning, she drew her Orcish Bow and shot a long iron arrow into one of the Elk's heads. It stood for a moment, before collapsing to the ground. Alixya had many skills; lock picking, pick pocketing, but especially archery. She had been able to hit the centre of a target without hesitating since she was about ten.

As the Elk lay dead and motionless on the forest floor, Alixya skinned it for the fur and removed some of the meat. It wasn't her favourite thing to do – kill animals, but there were no other sources of food around. She searched around for somewhere to sleep and then laid out the Elk hide on the ground, over some leaves and checked for any guards, wolves or bears.

Once Alixya was sure there was no one around she set up a small fire and lit it with a couple of dry sticks. After this she set up a frame over the fire and placed the meat over the orange flames. Whilst waiting for the venison to cook, Alixya pulled a book from her bag called "The book of Daedra".

She didn't find it particularly interesting, but it passed the time quickly and so it seemed only a few minutes had passed since she had began cooking. It smelled delicious and tasted even better. She debated whether she should save any for her breakfast, but it was too late – it was gone in a matter of minutes.

The sun had now completely set and the moon was beginning to rise. Alixya pulled two skins from her bag which had been sewn together using some reeds which she had found by the river – they were now in need of changing but would do for the night.

Snuggling down beneath her blanket Alixya quickly fell asleep – she was used to sleeping in "abandoned" tents. If she came across a site with few residents Alixya would normally kill them or knock them out before dragging the body into a river or letting it fall from a cliff. Sleeping out like this made her feel so... vulnerable. The only thing that made her feel safe was knowing that the beast would take over should anything happen.


	2. Ljotur The Hunter

**I would like to thank those who left a review – it lets me know how to improve and if people are enjoying it. Leave a review, it really helps with improving my writing!**

Ljotur was a male Imperial in his late twenties with short, white hair and jet black eyes hidden behind a dark hood with ancient markings around the edges. A tall, muscular build was covered by black steel armor and a quiver of silver arrows and a Daedric bow hung on his back. Ljotur was a Hunter and strictly obeyed the law – it was his job to catch anyone who broke it. This was a well paid job – he could earn up to seven thousand septims a week, depending in the job which needed completing and who had assigned it.

He had been given a job by the Jarl of Whiterun, Windhelm and Winterhold a few hours ago when the previous Hunter had been killed by a group of bandits. Ljotur's assignment was to investigate a massacre in Riverwood which had happened several months before – the previous Hunter had been researching the incident for months, unsuccessfully finding any leads. He had been told to look for a 6.7ft Werewolf with amber eyes and black fur. That was the target, but he had also been requested to track a young, Nord women with black hair for an extra thousand septims, she was needed alive though – this was all the information he had received, she had been spotted fleeing Riverwood after the massacre.

Ljotur was now approaching Riverwood on his magnificent Horse, the site of which the massacre had happened. He had questions to ask and not enough time to ask them. The thing was, Ljotur had been working on this for weeks – without anyone knowing. He had been carefully monitoring Werewolf attacks all over Skyrim, and trying to match the descriptions of the beast. It seemed to be that every two weeks or so there would be a whole camp wiped out by the same werewolf, the Lycanthrope seemed to have it relatively under control. The tales say that those with the blood of the wolf must feed the bloodlust at least once every fortnight, or the man will be lost to the beast for a period of time to hunt.

It was now nearing the "deadline" and Ljotur had only just been officially assigned the quest. He also had to be careful about how he asked people in Riverwood – some may still be in shock from the event. His first place to go would be the Sleeping Giant Inn.

The Inn was a large building with a rectangular fire in the middle and a counter to left. On said counter were bottles of wine and wheels of cheese for sale. A man playing music stood in a corner and a drunken man stumbled around the place. The man behind the counter was called Orgnar. He was a middle-aged Nord with thick, brown hair and wore plain clothes.

"Hello, I'm Ljotur – I'm hunting down the Werewol-" began Ljotur before he was cut off by Orgnar.

"I don't think we should be talking about this here. Some people might get a little… upset, upon being reminded about that." Orgnar said. "Follow me."

Ljotur was lead into the room nearest the counter and Orgnar demanded that the door was shut behind them. After this the Nord approached a tall wardrobe that was set against the wall and pulled the doors open.

Ljotur scowled, "If you're not going to help me I'll just leave – I don't have all day."

Orgnar ran his fingers along the back of the wardrobe and lodged his fingers into several small holes. When he pulled the back of the cabinet slid across and disappeared into the wall. He then smirked at the hunter and walked into the passage.

Alixya awoke to the sound of birds singing. It must've been about 7am, but Alixya couldn't be sure – the trees covered the sun and made the forest floor green in patches. Her head was throbbing – the beast needed out soon, but it couldn't come out during day as it would be too easy to spot her. After a while of trying to calm the beast, Alixya decided to go and look for some food and water. She headed north downhill and crossed over a small, bumpy path and back into the forest. Soon she came across a small shack, hidden just off the path behind some trees.

Crouched and with her bow drawn, Alixya approached the shack. There were lots of planks nailed together for a roof and one large hole for a door. A window was just beside the door and Alixya peeked through. A Nord lay on his bed, sound asleep and there were multiple cabinets and draws in the shack.

Stealthily, Alixya crept through the door and aimed for the Nord's Head. It wasn't until she got closer that Alixya realized the Nord was already deceased. Before sheathing her bow she looked around for anything of value – lots of food, a book, a journal, a lantern and multiple bowls lay around the shack. Alixya quickly took all of the food and the book. She left everything else and went out to find a flower. This she left next to the Nord – she didn't know why, but it felt right.

Continuing north, Alixya came across a wide river. Across it was a Sawmill. Alixya marked this onto her map and then filled a rusty tankard with some water from the river. She sat next to some rocks on the river bank while she ate the food and water she had retrieved. A large fish swam past her once, then again a few moments later – Alixya recognized this as a Slaughterfish. There was no way she would be able to swim across easily with it around, so she came up with a quick and simple plan.

"If I go into the water and lure it onto the bank, maybe I'll be able to kill it…"

Sure enough this plan worked. Alixya took the scales from its body and placed it back into the river. She did this with most beings, as a symbol of being carried to a new life. After watching it float down stream Alixya then proceeded to pass the river.

Alixya passed to a small island in the middle to catch her breath. She didn't notice the Mudcrabs here though. It was only when one snipped at her ankles she became aware of their presence. Quickly drawing her bow, Alixya took each of them out with an arrow and didn't hesitate to cross the rest of the river before more came.

Once she crossed an Orc approached Alixya.

"You have a good aim."

"I noticed." Replied Alixya in an unpleasant tone. Her nose was scrunched up - she didn't like Orcs; they smelled terrible and tasted bitter and dry.

The Orc huffed and continued with his work, obviously not impressed with how Alixya had reacted.

She began heading up to Solitude. On the way a Khajiit passed Alixya. Khajiit were the complete opposite of Orcs – they tasted sweet and felt soft. They were easy to take down, unless it was a warrior.

Alixya began to feel sick. The smell of the Khajiit excited the beast. It wanted out. _Now_.

Alixya didn't have time to get to cover. Her bones began to stretch, her muscles expanded. Her nose and mouth pulled out into a muzzle and sharp, white teeth extended from her gums. Her fingers lengthened and deadly claws pointed at the end. A long black tail sprouted from her backside and hair grew all over her body. The few guards who watched did nothing – shock and fear over whelmed them.

The Khajiit turned to see what the noise was and found a pair of amber eyes fixed on them, ready to kill.


	3. The Guard

**Right, this will probably be the normal rate at which I upload chapters – every 3-7 days (due to school). I hope you enjoy this chapter, tell me if you feel I'm rushing it too much, or going too slow. I struggled with the beginning of this one, so I apologise if the quality is low at the start.**

The doorway behind the wardrobe let into a small, stone tunnel which quickly opened out into a small room with cobblestone walls. There were two chests in the room not containing much and a large table in the centre. On this table were various sketches and diagrams of the bodies after the massacre. Orgnar gestured to them as he approached the table.

"Notice anything in common about all these victims?" Orgnar asked, a smirk appearing on his face.

"Yes... They were all attacked from the front...," he frowned, "Don't Werewolves usually come from behind? To get an advantage?" Replied Ljotur, mesmerised by the sketches.

"Exactly." Orgnar slid a picture of another body towards him, "This is how most Werewolves would attack." The sketch illustrated a body, too damaged to be able to recognise anyone. The throat was ripped open from behind and half the face gone.

"Where did you get these?" questioned Ljotur, suddenly a little more concerned, "No citizen should have access to this kind of information."

Orgnar simply replied with, "I have my sources."

Ljotur frowned again, but changed the subject, "I'm guessing I should follow a trail of bodies attacked like this then?"

"Yes."

"Could I take one of these for reference?" asked Ljotur, pointing at the sketches.

Orgnar paused, sighed and then handed over an image. In exchange for this Ljotur handed over a small bronze bag containing fifty septims, Orgnar smiled greedily.

"It's been good doing business with you." Ljotur said, before leaving.

Ljotur took in a breath of fresh air; the secret room had no ventilation and so the air was stale and musty. The sun was now high in the sky and the farmers were out attending to their crops. Ljotur pulled a map, envelope and the sketch out of his pocket. In the envelope there were reports of the attacks and extra information about werewolves. On the map were the locations of the reported attacks – these were marked in red. Ljotur slid the sketch into the envelope and placed it back in his pocket; he then found a small, wooden bench and sat down.

The locations on the map were also numbered. There were numbers one to nine scattered over the map. Ljotur decided to head for the most recent attack – The Whiterun Stables.

After passing under a large arched doorway Ljotur mounted his horse; it was a black stallion with a shiny, well-taken-care-of coat. There was a large piece of armour covering its head protecting it against headshots and it was saddled with sleeping equipment, a tent, food and water. He ordered his horse to turn and then saw an odd sight. A Guard, covered in blood and sweat, galloped around the corner on a horse. He was holding his hand to his left shoulder and sat leaning to one side, drowsily. It was only when he came closer that Ljotur realised the deep claw marks under his hand. Ljotur rushed off his horse and sprinted to the guard. He pulled him off the horse and carried him into Riverwood.

Upon awaking several hours later, the guard looked around the room. An Imperial sat next to him on a wooden chair and his wound had been covered by – no longer white – cloth.

"Thank the Divines - you're finally awake." Said Ljotur, half happy, half concerned.

"I'm glad to... just be away... from there..." replied the guard, who was struggling to say a sentence.

"I see that you are injured, and in great pain, but, could you possibly tell me anything about what happened," he glanced at the bandages, "Anything about the Wolf?"

"H-how did you... know?"

"I've been tracking this particular Lycanthrope for a while and have come to recognise it's... mark."

"I-I'm truly sorry... but... I'm afraid I cannot remember... much."

Ljotur sighed and headed for the door.

"Wait... I-It was outside Solitude... I'm afraid... that's it for now. I-If I remember... anymore... I'll deliver you a letter... Thank You, may Hircine aid you in your hunt."

"May I ask one more thing? Why come to Riverwood when you were in Solitude?" questioned Ljotur.

"M-My family lives... here, I thought of it first and j-just set off."

"Ok" Ljotur smiled, "Thank You."

He then bowed and exited the building. He mounted his horse once again and ordered it to turn. He pulled out his map, marked a red dot on it and scribbled the number _10 _beside it.

The horse cantered for Solitude.

Alixya awoke curled up in a ball next to a river behind a cluster of rocks. Ragged, torn armour hung in tatters from her shoulders and waist while her hands, feet and head were all cold and bare. Her bag no longer hung from her back.

Alixya grumbled, moaned and crawled to the river. She sighed at the site of herself – Crusty, dried blood covered her lips, hands and neck and her teeth were coloured red. What had happened? Normally Alixya had several precious seconds to find somewhere to transform, or even just give her time to strip. She would then collect her armour after the beast began to recede, but still controlled her body.

After washing the blood off herself, Alixya turned to find a small pile of flesh, organs and bones. Some fur was visible in parts of the mangled flesh – Khajiit.

"That must've caused it..." Alixya thought to herself. Torn armour was also in the pile; more than one person had been killed – about seven from the looks of it, and multiple animals. The Werewolf didn't enjoy animals, but seemed to hunt them for the thrill.

She sighed, and then scavenged what she could from the bodies: an iron sword, a hunting bow and some steel arrows, a silver ring – something to sell – and a stained tunic.

She ripped some of the armour scraps from her body and made a belt and strap to fix the arrows and sword to before heading south, away from Solitude.

On the way Alixya began to wonder. Could she keep the beast under control? It was calm now, but after a few days it would become restless. Alixya could keep it under for a week or so after this feeling, but it always managed to tear its way out. Then it dawned on her, what if she transformed more often? Perhaps she'd be able to keep it under control more because the bloodlust would be less?

She stopped and pondered about this thought. She could try it. As long as she stayed away from any holds it was safe to try. Alixya smiled at her idea, and continued south.

On the way she passed a small Thalmor Patrol, the leader wore black robes, gloves and boots with gold details. The two others appeared to be bodyguards – they were dressed in some fur armour. This group approached Alixya and made her feel uncomfortable – she wore only the blood stained tunic. They talked a bit about the Empire and their goals before asking if Alixya believed in Talos. The Thalmor believed Talos should not be worshipped, as he was not a god, only a warrior. Alixya was not a hundred percent sure who he was – she had overheard people talking about him, but not in great detail.

"I-I don't know... I guess it's up to you to believe in what you want." Replied Alixya in a confused, slightly worried tone. Should she have answered like that? Obviously not. Next thing she knew, the Thalmor had pulled out their weapons and begun attacking.

Alixya quickly drew her iron sword and blocked the first attack.

She swung the sword full force with all her strength into the first guard's shoulder and then swivelled around to deflect a blow from the second.

A third guard which Alixya hadn't noticed appeared with a small red flame in one hand and a ball of lightning in the other.

"Great – a mage." Alixya thought as she ran towards the woman.

A stream of fire licked at Alixya's right arm as she dodged the first attack.

She then rolled, narrowly missing a bolt of lightning and drawing her bow in the process.

Alixya fixed a bow into place and released it with a swift, fatal movement.

The mage screamed in pain and fell to the ground with an arrow dug deep into one eye.

The second guard attacked again without giving Alixya time to get her sword.

He swung as she rolled under his legs.

Quickly, Alixya put the bow around the guard's neck and pulled hard.

The string cut into his neck and the screams soon faded to a whimper then silence.

Alixya turned to face the head of the group, their face confused, scared and worried at the same time.

"Strip." Alixya demanded.

"I'm sorry?"

"Give me your clothes and I shall let you live."

The Thalmor in control of the group took off the robes and handed them to Alixya.

"Now run."

The Woman took off in the direction which Alixya had come.

After changing into the robes Alixya felt much better. They were light and offered some warmth – much better than the tunic. She searched the bodies for any loot – she had already found thirty septims hidden in the robes. From these bodies she managed to gather a steel sword, steel arrows, a further fifty septims, an enchanted ring and a large, gold necklace.

The necklace opened into two halves – a locket.

Inside were two pictures, one of a pretty Nord women with bright blue eyes and another of a small, handsome, well-built boy who appeared to be about nine.

This filled Alixya with guilt, but she soon forgot about this, something had just caught her attention.

"That sneaky little son of a..."

The Thalmor must've alerted the guards to what had happened. Obviously not explaining the whole story. Once they found her, the incident with the Thalmor wouldn't matter - they would recognise her as the Lycanthrope from Solitude.

"No time to think – got to just run..."

Alixya sprinted away from the sound of hooves on the path and barking dogs and towards a river. She could lose her scent here.

Alixya spun around just in time to see two guards on horses and two on foot – with dogs – become visible up the hill.

"Don't spot me, don't spot me..."

The dogs sniffed and saw Alixya – they began barking wildly and it didn't take the guards long to act.

Swearing under her breath, Alixya ran along the river bank, telling the wolf;

"Any time now would be great!"

However, it was still resting from last night's hunt and would not take over.

She growled in frustration and quickened her pace.

That was when she came to a cliff edge – the water dropped vertically and gathered in a lake at the bottom.

She looked behind; the guards on horses closing in quickly with the others lagging behind.

Upon seeing Alixya's face the guard to the right turned to the other and said,

"Isn't that the Werewolf? From Solitude last night?"

The guard looked closer before recognising her.

"Shit! You're right!"

The two guards forced the horses to run faster while drawing their bows - Alixya had no choice.

As two silver arrows whizzed past her head, Alixya jumped, hung in the air for a moment, and then dropped into the lake below.

**I made the waterfall up by the way. I didn't really refer to the game very much in this chapter.**

**I NEED MORE REVIEWS! **


	4. The River

**I'm really sorry about the lack of uploads recently – I've been busy with school and other things.**

**I hope you all forgive me. Enjoy.**

Ljotur approached the large, iron gates which lead into a small area up to Solitude. The Gates were closed, locked and heavily guarded with a black cloth hanging behind them, preventing anyone – or thing – from seeing inside.

As he approached the gates a guard stopped Ljotur in his tracks – this guard was quite tall and gave the impression that he had tremendous strength and authority. He didn't though, something about his voice gave him away and Ljotur soon knew he was but a low ranked guard who, quite possibly, earned just enough to feed himself.

"I'm sorry but no one is allowed to enter or exit Solitude today – the Jarl's orders."

Ljotur thought about what to say, before asking a simple, one word question.

"Why?"

This puzzled the guard, all the other visitors today had just turned and walked on. This man knew something more – something about what had happened.

"Uh... There has been an attack."

Almost smirking, Ljotur looked directly at the guard and asked again,

"What kind of attack?"

The guard almost began worrying. He placed his hand on the handle of his new, steel sword.

"I'm sorry but you will have to leave now."

Noticing the guard's sword, Ljotur turned around and began walking away. Ljotur then turned his head to the side.

"May I ask one last thing?"

Hesitating the guard replied with an unsure "Yes."

A few moments then passed before Ljotur asked,

"What did the Werewolf look like?"

Alixya thrashed around in the water, struggling for air – none came. Her vision began to get blurry and her muscles were aching. The surface with oxygen filled air was inches above her reach. Frustrated now, she looked down at her feet and legs and realized a long, slimy weed had curled around her left ankle. Using the weed as rope, she pulled herself down and pulled at the plant.

It wouldn't budge.

Now panicking, with her lungs and muscles screaming, she tore the weed ferociously with her teeth. After a matter of seconds it gave way and Alixya resurfaced, gasping for air. She made her way quickly to the riverbank, taking large gulps of air whilst doing so.

The damp grass felt good against her body. She had removed the Thalmor robes and placed them on a couple of large rocks to dry in the sun. Her underwear was soaked too – but she didn't like the thought of someone coming along and seeing her nude.

Alixya peered up to where the guards had been – no one looked back down into her warm, amber eyes. She couldn't see them. She _could _however smell them.

Alixya picked up her clothes; they were now warm and damp. Better than cold and wet. Discretely, Alixya sniffed the air. It travelled smoothly up her nasal passages and led her nose to where they hid, crouched behind a large boulder with moss covering one side of it.

With the scent of sweat and fear in her nose Alixya hastily pulled the clothes on and made her way to the riverbank. She walked for about a minute before breaking into a sprint.

Sand, dust and mud sprayed up behind her as the distance between her and the guards grew. After about a mile she stopped, took some large breaths of air, and continued walking along the sand in her bare feet. It felt warm and grainy between her toes. The air was warm and the sun shining – the perfect summers day.

Most people would be out enjoying a picnic or walk through the hills. Alixya chuckled at the thought, when had she ever had a day like that? Never. Not even as a child. She had grown up in the creeks and crevices of Falkreath. Abandoned by her parents at the age of three and cast away from society by the age of four. Nothing was wrong with her – she had just been a bit of a handful at that age, running off whenever her carer's back was turned. Ripping up books. Refusing to eat. Throwing anything she could get her hands on.

Yeah – a _bit_ of a handful.

Repeating this thought over and over in her head Alixya was lost in thought. A day dream? No, it was more like a flash back. The day she had received it – the bite.

Distant barks and shouts focused Alixya's attention on the present. She had stopped while thinking – a bad habit of hers.

She grasped a shoe in each hand, rolled up her trousers and waded across the river.

She took off, running gracefully through the woods.

**A short chapter I know, but I felt really bad for not uploading anything. #sorry**


	5. Quick Note

Hey Everyone.

Really sorry for the lack of chapters recently – hopefully will begin writing another tonight J

No chapters was because of things like school (tests, Timetable change, etc) plus we had the activity block at school (we got to choose somewhere to go from a list (blackpool, etc) and i chose Alton Towers, it was a 22hr day, but extremely awesome :3)

Got a bit more imagination now for writing and so i will try and make my uploads regular now J

Thanks,

WhiteTiger :3


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